Islamic Jihad has fired at least 360 rockets into Israel from Gaza since Tuesday, the Israeli army said Wednesday night, in response to the assassination of one of the militant group's senior commanders.
On Tuesday, the commander, Bahaa Abu al-Ata, and his wife were killed when their Gaza home was targeted by an Israeli airstrike. The army says Abu al-Ata was responsible for several rocket attacks against Israel, and was planning a massive operation against the country.
After Abu al-Ata's death was reported, Islamic Jihad began firing rockets into Israel, and Israel responded by ramping up airstrikes against Islamic Jihad targets across the Gaza Strip. At least 26 Palestinians have died in the fighting, including a 7-year-old boy. Islamic Jihad is backed by Iran, and calls for the destruction of Israel.
The militant group Hamas, which controls Gaza, has so far stayed out of the matter. Egyptian mediators are trying to arrange a truce, The Associated Press reports, and U.N. Mideast envoy Nickolay Mladenov said the organization is "working to urgently de-escalate the situation." On Tuesday, Syrian officials said an Israeli airstrike targeting an Islamic Jihad militant in Damascus missed him, but killed two of his relatives. Catherine Garcia
At least 14 people are dead and hundreds more injured after a magnitude 6.7 earthquake hit eastern Turkey on Friday, Turkish officials tell The Associated Press.
The quake hit at 8:55 p.m. in the Elazig province, where Gov. Cetin Oktay Kaldirim told NTV television that three people had died. Gov. Aydin Barus of the the neighboring Malatya province told state TV that five people had been reported dead there. At least 225 people were injured in Elazig and 90 in Malatya, the Daily Sabah reported.
Several aftershocks followed the initial quake, with the harshest ones hitting magnitudes of 5.4 and 5.1. Some buildings collapsed in Elazig and one caught fire in the town of Sivrice, but it was quickly doused. A four- or five-story building had also collapsed in the town of Maden, and Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu told NTV television earlier Friday that rescuers were on the scene.
Some people's homes were too damaged to return to, and others were afraid to go back inside in case of later shocks or collapses, so they were "being moved to student dormitories or sports center amid freezing conditions," AP writes. Kathryn Krawczyk
After Annabella Sciorra testified that disgraced producer Harvey Weinstein raped her in the early 1990s, Rosie Perez took the stand Friday to back her up.
Perez testified in the ongoing Weinstein rape trial after Sciorra told jurors Thursday that in 1993 or 1994, Weinstein raped her in her New York apartment. Bolstering Sciorra's claim, Perez said Friday that in 1993, Sciorra told her, "I think I was raped," The New York Times reports.
Although Perez testified that Sciorra initially did not name the alleged perpetrator, she said Sciorra later told her it was Weinstein.
"She swore me never to tell anybody," Perez said. "I told her to go to the police, and she said: 'I can't. He will destroy me. He will destroy my career."
Weinstein, who has been accused of sexual misconduct by more than 80 women, is facing charges of sexual assault and rape. He has pleaded not guilty and denied all allegations of nonconsensual sex acts. Prosecutors allege Weinstein forcibly performed oral sex on a woman in 2006 and raped a woman in 2013, but Sciorra testified as a "prior bad acts" witness as prosecutors attempt to establish a pattern of behavior. If convicted, Weinstein faces possible life in prison. Brendan Morrow
Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) warned Friday that President Trump abused the power of his presidency and will do so again unless removed from office.
During the final day of Democrats' opening arguments in the Senate's impeachment trial, Schiff argued in favor of Trump's removal from office, after the House of Representatives passed two articles of impeachment charging him with abuse of power and obstruction of Congress. "Based on the abuse of power for which he was impeached, and his ongoing efforts to solicit foreign interference both directly and through Mr. Giuliani, there can be little doubt that President Trump will continue to invite foreign interference in our elections again and again," Schiff said, saying Trump solicited election interference both from Russia in 2016 and then Ukraine in 2020. "That poses an imminent threat to the integrity of our democracy."
Schiff went on to argue that Trump's "pattern of conduct repeatedly soliciting foreign interference in our elections for his own benefit confirms that he will stop at nothing to retain his power." Trump has denied pressuring Ukraine to investigate former Vice President Joe Biden in order to benefit his 2020 presidential campaign.
After Democrats wrap up their opening impeachment arguments later on Friday, arguments from Trump's team will begin Saturday morning and last "several hours." Trump's defense doesn't have to use the full 24 hours they've been allotted, but if they do, their arguments will continue until Tuesday. Should a vote to call additional witnesses fail, the impeachment trial could conclude next week. Brendan Morrow
President Trump's impeachment trial may not last much longer.
As Democrats' opening impeachment argument continues into its final day Friday, The New York Times reports the "increasing expectation in the Senate" is that a vote next week to call new witnesses like Democrats have advocated for will "fall short, moving the trial into its end game."
Axios is out with a similar report, writing that although Democrats need to sway four Republicans to vote for calling new witnesses assuming every Democrat votes in favor, "the prevailing view emerging among Republican Senate aides was that Democrats ... will struggle to get more than three." The Senate previously delayed a decision on whether to call witnesses until after the opening arguments, The Washington Post reports.
Breaking the votes down further, Axios notes that Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), who Democrats hoped to convince, is a no, and aides expect Sens. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) and Cory Gardner (R-Colo.) will be as well. Republican aides reportedly also believe that House Judiciary Chair Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.) controversially suggesting that Republicans were complicit in a "cover up" and engaging in "treacherous" behavior may have backfired.
Another senator who Democrats have been targeting is Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.), but after he said Friday that the House managers "presented us with a mountain of overwhelming evidence," the Post noted this "could indicate that he is not inclined to hear more." Should no witnesses be called, Trump's impeachment trial could end next week, Axios notes.
During their argument Friday, Democrats argued Trump "tried to cheat, he got caught, and then worked hard to cover it up." These final hours of arguments are key, as Axios notes if Democrats hope to sway Republican senators in the vote on witnesses, this is their "last chance."